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40 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 9, 2004 Medford council election has only one contested race By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune With four Medford City Council positions open for the Nov. 2 election, there’s a race for only one of the seats, while three incumbents are unopposed. John Statler, 56, and Michael Torguson, 38, will vie for the Ward 3 seat held by John Michaels for six years. Michaels is not seeking re-election. Statler has been a Medford resident since 1990 and owns his own computer consulting and repair business. He is on the West Medford Community Coalition, Rogue Valley Community Development Corp., Rural Development Corp., and was on Medford’s 20-year transportation plan citizen’s advisory committee. He also has grant and board training from the Pacific Nonprofit Network. Once homeless himself, Statler is a homeless advocate. Torguson has been a Rogue Valley resident since 1992 and is a government and business teacher at Rogue Community College as well as corporate educator and cardiopulmonary resuscitation instructor at Asante Health System. He is a member of Medford’s Communications Advisory Committee and several committees within the regional American Heart Association and is former chairman of the board of trustees for the Medford Elks Lodge. Statler said if elected he wants to work toward making the council more user-friendly for Medford residents. He said he doesn’t think the council is always open and helpful to citizens. Advertisement "I know that it’s difficult to have citizen involvement in government but it’s critically important," said Statler. And it doesn’t stop there, he said. "It’s one thing to have public hearings and it’s another to do something with that information. ... I want people to feel honored and respected," he said. Torguson, who said as a political science teacher he brings knowledge of government to the race, argued that residents have opportunities for involvement. "If a citizen gets up and wants to talk about Wal-Mart, they can talk about Wal-Mart" at city meetings, he said. "There needs to be a little more sensitivity to citizen involvement," he agreed, but citizens also have a responsibility, he said. "One of the things I tell my students is ‘This is your government — what are you going to do with it?’ " he said. Torguson, who supports a free-market approach that he says would encourage commercial and industrial growth and employment opportunities in Medford, said the City Council has done a good job. Both candidates agree that more oversight of the Medford Urban Renewal Agency budget is needed. MURA has recently come under criticism from some council members who think the agency’s focus has been only downtown and needs to expand to include neighborhoods. MURA is limited in scope by the rules under which the council established it more than a decade ago, so including neighborhoods — other than the Liberty Park neighborhood north of downtown — would require the council to expand its taxing district. "As far as bringing it (MURA) under the council, I don’t think that would be a good idea," said Torguson of a proposal suggested by at least one councilman. Statler said as a councilman he’d want to know more specifics about MURA’s budget, and exactly how much money is committed for which projects. "I want to break open the budget for community input," said Statler, adding that he’d like to see MURA money going into neighborhoods. Torguson also would like the council to provide more oversight of MURA’s budget and would like to see projects extend beyond just the downtown area, but he does like what MURA has done for the downtown area so far. "For what they’ve done, they’ve done well," he said. Statler said he and Torguson don’t see the council the same way. "He thinks things are going fine and I think there are problems," said Statler. "I think there’s not adequate oversight on large sums of money. MURA is just one of them." Torguson said if elected his pet projects would be creating more park space throughout the city and having more city sponsored activities for young people. From roads and public safety to youth activities and parks, he sees council members as having a lot to oversee. "I feel that the government should provide for the people that which they cannot provide for themselves," he said. Incumbents ensure victory The three unchallenged incumbents running for Medford City Council are Jason Anderson, James Kuntz and Greg Jones. Anderson, who was appointed to the Ward 1 seat in December, is an attorney and former planning commissioner. He is on the budget committee, the hospital facilities authority board, the Medford Urban Renewal Agency board and the city’s budget committee. Kuntz , who was appointed to the Ward 2 seat in April, is a housing inspector for the Housing Authority of Jackson County. He is on the housing and community development committee, the parks and recreation commission, the joint transportation subcommittee and the budget committee. Jones, who was appointed to the Ward 4 seat in May, is a financial adviser with Waddell & Reed in Medford and a former Medford parks and recreation director. He’s on the multicultural commission, the Southeast Plan Implementation Advisory Commission and the budget committee. Medford is divided into four wards that meet at the intersection of Crater Lake Avenue and Jackson Street, roughly dividing the city into four quarters. Ward 1 is northeast, Ward 2 is southwest, Ward 3 is northwest and Ward 4 is southeast Medford. Each ward has two council members who serve four-year terms, with an election for one council seat in each ward every two years. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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